Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Trash Cleanup (2)
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The encirclement shattered in an instant.
"Grab them!"
"If we let them get away, we're all dead!"
The human hunters chased after Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na with everything they had.
Slash!
Boom!
Pretending to flee, Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na methodically thinned out the human hunters' numbers.
When they had formed the encirclement, the human hunters could at least coordinate their attacks.
But once it broke, that was impossible.
Even as the melee fighters up close got sliced apart, the ranged attackers in the back couldn't provide any real support.
Not without risking it.
"Aaagh!"
"How dare you hit a friendly, you idiot!"
A ranged attacker's skill had gone astray, striking an allied melee fighter.
'As expected, they're low-tier.'
The human hunters' average levels ranged from 100 to 200.
And there were hundreds of them.
Truth be told, no matter how skilled Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na were, it didn't make sense for them to unilaterally slaughter hundreds like this.
What if those hunters had actually cooperated and combined their strength?
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na would have abandoned the fight and seriously considered escaping.
But there was no need to worry about that.
Thud!
Kang Hyun-soo lunged at the human hunter in the lead.
"Eek! It's coming at me! Help!"
The targeted hunter panicked and called for aid.
But no one came to help.
"Why's it coming this way?"
"Dodge!"
They scattered in terror instead.
Slash!
The human hunter who'd been targeted lost his life.
And that wasn't the end of it.
"Aaagh!"
"Mercy!"
Even the hunters who'd abandoned their comrades to dodge met their ends in droves.
Many had collided with allies while turning to evade mid-sprint.
'Totally a rabble.'
That was the limit of a criminal gang.
A situation where their numbers only got in the way.
At first, the human hunters had charged after Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na with momentum, following Oh Deok-gu's orders.
But as casualties mounted against foes stronger than expected, their spirit broke.
The human hunters had no resolve to sacrifice themselves to slow Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na down.
No courage to throw their lives away for comrades, either.
More often, they hung back, figuring someone else would step up.
'Well, guys like that wouldn't have become human hunters in the first place.'
No matter how many of these losers there were.
They weren't the least bit intimidating.
With a motley crew like this.
No matter the numbers, they couldn't unite—in fact, they just hindered each other.
Exactly like now.
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na steadily reduced their ranks with hit-and-run tactics.
Only when the human hunters finally quailed and fell back in fear did it happen.
"You worthless idiots!"
Oh Deok-gu, Geo Guild's guild master, appeared with his subordinates.
Oh Deok-gu and his men blocked Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na's escape route.
With a bloodthirsty shout, he berated the human hunters.
"You're struggling against just two people with this many bodies!"
At Oh Deok-gu's roar, the human hunters bowed their heads.
Truth be told, even they were dumbfounded.
Their numbers exceeded three hundred.
Yet against just two, they'd lost nearly half.
They had no excuse, even with ten mouths.
"You useless trash!"
Oh Deok-gu glared at the human hunters with contempt.
In reality, he hadn't just arrived—he'd been there for a while.
He hadn't shown himself right away because Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na looked stronger than anticipated.
'Fucking idiots who can't even serve as meat shields.'
Oh Deok-gu had planned to use the human hunters to drain the two saboteurs' stamina and mana, ruining his business.
Trash like them were easy to replace anyway.
So he'd watched their numbers dwindle from afar, relaxed like it was a show across the river.
But things had gone wrong.
The human hunters had hesitated, fighting inefficiently.
If they'd charged with resolve to die from the start?
They could've drained more stamina and mana with fewer losses.
'My mistake for expecting anything from those morons.'
Oh Deok-gu forcibly calmed his frustration.
'Think positive. Thanks to those trash, our win rate's up to 100 percent.'
Numbers always win out.
The saboteurs were skilled, sure, but after this prolonged battle, their stamina and mana had to be bottomed out.
"I don't know where you scum crawled from, but you dared touch my rice bowl? You think you'll get away with it?"
Oh Deok-gu glared at Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na with murderous eyes and bellowed.
"You're the human scum, and you talk too much."
At Kang Hyun-soo's words, Oh Deok-gu's eyebrow twitched.
"Fine, no need for chit-chat. Let's see if you can keep yapping after I chop off your limbs."
Thud!
No sooner had Oh Deok-gu finished speaking than he charged at Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na with his subordinates.
Oh Deok-gu's level was over 300.
His subordinates were Geo Guild elites in the mid-to-late 200s.
Clang! Clang!
Attacks with a whole different league of destructive power targeted Kang Hyun-soo's openings.
'Not pushovers, as expected.'
Unlike the human hunters' wild swings.
These hit hard and were perfectly coordinated.
But.
Slash!
"Gahk!"
Boom!
"Aaagh!"
They were a step below Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na.
"Fire Fist!"
"Fire Storm!"
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na unleashed attack skills in rapid succession.
In moments, the Geo Guild elites' casualties snowballed.
Oh Deok-gu was quite rattled.
He'd thought there'd be no losses among his elites.
Yet seven were already down.
'Just how high are their stamina and mana stats?'
Contrary to expectations of them being drained, Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na moved fresh.
They spammed high-mana attack skills nonstop.
Stunned by their fiercer-than-expected resistance, Oh Deok-gu and the elites hesitated.
In that instant.
Kang Hyun-soo signaled Song Ha-na.
Thud!
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na leaped simultaneously toward the human hunters.
"Eek!"
"They're coming this way!"
As the terrified human hunters broke formation to open an escape path.
"Hold! Hold no matter what! If the encirclement breaks, you'll all die by my hand!"
Oh Deok-gu's bloodthirsty shout drilled into the human hunters' ears.
They feared Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na, but Oh Deok-gu and the Geo elites terrified them more.
"Kill them!"
"If they escape, we're the ones who die!"
"We have to kill them here, whatever it takes!"
The human hunters charged at Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na with venom.
Clang! Slash!
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na cut through the human hunters, breaking the encirclement.
Boom!
They even chained high-damage attack skills.
But the situation differed from before.
With Oh Deok-gu watching?
The human hunters fought desperately, as if the line could never break.
Meanwhile, Oh Deok-gu and the Geo elites joined the fray.
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na dodged them, focusing fire on the human hunters.
"Aaagh!"
"Mercy!"
Blood sprayed like fountains.
Human hunters died in droves.
"You slippery bastards!"
Oh Deok-gu spat curses watching it.
'You think that'll break the encirclement?'
Oh Deok-gu signaled his elites to reinforce it.
The human hunters' net looked too flimsy.
As Oh Deok-gu and the elites spread out to form it, human hunter losses mounted further.
But Oh Deok-gu didn't care.
'Extras like them are replaceable anytime. Draining those two's stamina and mana matters more.'
No matter how high the mana stat, it wasn't infinite.
Spam high-mana AoE skills in succession?
'Even vast mana reserves will hit zero eventually.'
Sure, the human hunters might get wiped in the process.
But as long as the Geo elites survived, it was fine.
'They're stronger than expected, and we've already taken losses. Can't afford more.'
Oh Deok-gu had brought 32 Geo elites.
Seven were dead.
More deaths?
Even victory might threaten Geo Guild's very existence.
"Eek! This is insane!"
Then one terrified human hunter turned tail and fled.
Slash!
In that moment, Oh Deok-gu—holding the encirclement—severed the fleeing hunter's head.
"Deserters get summary execution!"
Oh Deok-gu raised the headless corpse high and shouted.
"Kill anyone who leaves the battlefield!"
At his cry, the Geo elites on the perimeter aimed weapons at the human hunters with murderous glares.
"Damn it!"
"Die here or die there!"
With things like this, the human hunters who'd been set to flee.
Had no choice but to charge Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na, weeping as they ate their mustard.
The onslaught from enemies resolved to die was ferocious.
Slash!
"Aaagh!"
Kang Hyun-soo's sword swings slowed.
Whoosh!
Boom!
Song Ha-na's AoE skill casts lagged too.
When the human hunters' numbers dipped below fifty.
"Huff huff!"
Rough breaths escaped Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na.
'Limit reached?'
His heart pounded like it might burst.
Even the mana from the Mana Heart skill was utterly depleted.
Song Ha-na trembled, gripping her sword.
She couldn't use attack skills at all.
"Almost got 'em."
"Tough bastards."
"It's over now."
The human hunters glared murderously at Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na.
But they didn't rush in recklessly.
Their comrades who'd boldly gone to finish the exhausted pair were all dead.
A brief standoff ensued.
Step step.
Then Oh Deok-gu and the Geo elites pushed through the human hunters and appeared.
"You idiots! Can't even finish off dying trash!"
Oh Deok-gu mocked the human hunters scornfully.
Hearing that, the human hunters glared at him with venomous resentment.
"What're you looking at, you garbage!"
Even at Oh Deok-gu's bloodthirsty shout, they didn't drop their hateful stares.
'Damn.'
Oh Deok-gu scowled.
Let this slide, and it could escalate.
"I'll pay you handsomely for today's work. Three hundred shares split among fifty—plenty to go around."
At Oh Deok-gu's words, the malice in the human hunters' eyes vanished instantly.
'Trash as expected.'
Oh Deok-gu smirked in satisfaction.
In that moment.
"You won't be getting any reward money."
Kang Hyun-soo spoke up.
"What? Think I'll stiff you?"
Oh Deok-gu shot back with a what-kind-of-nonsense-is-this face.
'Trying to sow discord between me and these losers?'
That's what Oh Deok-gu had to think.
But Kang Hyun-soo's next words defied expectations.
"No idea. Doesn't matter anyway. You who pays, them who gets paid—all dying here."
"Kh! Kuhahaha!"
Oh Deok-gu burst into mad laughter at Kang Hyun-soo's words.
"What? I'm dying? You crazy? You're the one dying."
To Oh Deok-gu, Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na had no chance.
Stamina depleted, mana gone.
Just two of them.
His side numbered over seventy.
Stamina and mana overflowing.
"Trying to buy time to recover with bullshit, but I won't give you that chance..."
"Battalion Summon."
Kang Hyun-soo cut him off and activated the skill.
In that instant.
Shaaa!
One hundred fifty summons made of pitch-black mana materialized.